2009
Universidad Tecnológica de Netzahualcóyotl
Alberto Juárez Oliva
[Countable and Uncountable Nouns]
Some, any plurals and singular how much and how many
Nouns
What are Nouns?
The simple definition is: a person, place or thing. Here are some examples:
· person: man, woman, teacher, John, Mary
· place: home, office, town, countryside, America
· thing: table, car, banana, money, music, love, dog, monkey
The problem with this definition is that it does not explain why "love" is a noun but can also be a verb.
Common Nouns
A common noun is the word used for a class of person, place or thing.
Examples: Car, Man, Bridge, Town, Water, Metal, Face
Proper Nouns
A proper noun is the name of a person, place or thing (i.e., its own name). A proper noun always starts with a capital letter.
Examples: Michael, Africa, Peking, United Nations, The Tower of London, Uncle George
Collective Nouns
A collective noun is the word used for a group of people or things.
Examples: Choir, Team, Jury, Shoal, Cabinet (of ministers), Army, Squad fighting, herd, cattle, audience, crowd, etc……
Verbal Nouns
Verbal nouns are formed from verbs. They are a type of common noun.
I love swimming. Practical thinking is required to solve this problem.
Compound Nouns
Compound nouns are nouns made up of two or more words. Some compound nouns are hyphenated.
Mother-in-law, Board of members, Court-martial, Forget-me-not, Manservant, Paper-clip
Possessive Nouns
Possessive nouns are nouns made with apostrophe ‘ or ‘s at the end of Noun o to give belonging of a thing.
Brother’s car, Anita’s work, bus’ seats, the boy’s toys, etc…
Types of irregular plural
Ends with -fe / Change f to v
then
Add -s / knife - knives
life - lives
wife - wives
Ends with -f / Change f to v
then
Add -es / half - halves
wolf - wolves
loaf – loaves
thief - thieves
Ends with -o / Add -es / potato - potatoes
tomato - tomatoes
volcano - volcanoes
ALL KINDS / Change the vowel
or
Change the word
or
Add a different ending / man - men
foot - feet
child - children
person - people
tooth - teeth
mouse - mice
Unchanging / Singular and plural
are the same / sheep
deer
fish (sometimes)
Exercises:
Words with different form
1. One child is here and the other______are outdoors.
2. This foot of the chair is broken, but the other______are fine.
3. One woman wants a hamburger and the other______want salads.
4. This tooth hurts and so do my other______
5. This mouse a Macintosh. The other______are for PCs.
Words ending with -O
6. Park that auto here, and park the other______in the back lot.
7. Your first photo is focused, but the other______are out of focus.
8. Type one zero here and type three______there.
9. One hero , Martin Luther King Jr., like so many______fought for freedom.
10. Peel one potato and put the other two______away.
11. I want this video and those______too.
Nouns ending with -F or -FE
12. One wolf will fight to control the other______in the park.
13. People have one life , but a cat has nine______
14. A bread knife and several butter______were left in the sink.
15. My belief and your______may differ.
16. The roof burn, but the wooden______all caught fire.
17. One thief got away, but the other two______were caught.
Nouns with same singular-plural form
18. This red fish and those green, blue, and black______are beautiful.
19. The World Series this year was more exciting than all the______before.
20. I ate one grapefruit, but the other______are not ripe yet.
Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:
· music, art, love, happiness
· advice, information, news
· furniture, luggage
· rice, sugar, butter, water
· electricity, gas, power
· money, currency
We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:
· This news is very important.
· Your luggage looks heavy.
We do not use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:
· a piece of news
· a bottle of water
· a grain of rice
We can use some and any with uncountable and countable nouns:
· I've got some money. Have you got any rice?
· She’s got some reasons. She hasn’t got any friend.
We use “a lot of” or “lots of” with countable or uncountable things to say there is plenty of something.
· There is a lot of traffic in the highway. There are a lot of clouds in the sky.
· There is lots of pollution over Mexico city There are lots of destroyed buildings
We can use a few and many with countable nouns
· I’ll be away for a few days.
· Adam has many things to do
We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:
· I've got a little money.
· I haven't got much rice.
Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns".
SOME / We use "some" in positive sentences. We use some for both countable and uncountable nouns. Example: I have some friends.ANY / We use "any" in negative sentences or questions. We use any for both countable and uncountable nouns. Example: Do you have any cheese? - He doesn't have any friends in Chicago.
EXCEPTION! / We use "some" in questions when offering or requesting something that is there. Example: Would you like some bread? (offer) - Could I have some water? (request)
ANY / We use "any" in negative sentences or questions. We use any for both countable and uncountable nouns.Example: Do you have any cheese? - He doesn't have any friends in Chicago.
SOMEBODY, SOMEWHERE, SOMETHING / We use "some" words - somebody, someone, somewhere and something - in positive sentences. Example: He lives somewhere near here.
ANYBODY, ANYWHERE, ANYTHING / We use "any" words - anybody, anyone, anywhere and anything - in negative sentences or questions. Example: Do you know anything about that boy? - She doesn't have anywhere to go.
Fill in the gaps in the sentences below with some or any, or the words (somewhere, anybody, something, anything, etc…)
Would you like ______to eat?
I have ______money in my wallet.
Is there ______juice in the fridge?
He can't think of ______to do.
I'd like to go ______hot for my vacation.
Is there ______who plays tennis in your class?
I'm afraid I don't have ______answers to life's problems.
Could I have ______Coke?
How many…? Or How much…?
We use “HOW MANY” for countable things (things you can count), we use “HOW MUCH” for uncountable things (things you can not count)
We need some tea. ______do we need?
We need some eggs. ______do we need?
We need some paper. ______do we need?
We need some money. ______do we need?
______cigarettes do you smoke a day?
______packets of cigarettes do you have?
______work have you got to do?
______sleep did you get last night?
______children have you got?
______bottles of wine are there in the cellar?
______English grammar do you know?
______Americans do you know?
______sugar do you take in your tea?
______apples do you eat in an average week?
______fruit do you eat in an average week?
______real friends do you have?
______chairs are there in your house?
______furniture do you have?
______traffic was there on the motorway today?
______times must I tell you?
I have ______rice for lunch
He has ______books from the library.
Would you like ______tea?
Is there ______fruit juice in the fridge?
Could I have ______books, please?
Why don't you take ______books home with you?
Would you like ______books?
Do you have ______tea?
He doesn’t give me ______tea.
I don't think we have ______coffee left.
I have ______news.
She has ______valuable books in her house.
Philip wants ______help with his exams.
There is ______butter in the fridge.
We need ______cheese if we want to make a fondue.
Would you like ______help?
Would you have ______more roast beef?
She doesn't want ______kitchen appliances for Christmas.
They don't want ______help moving to their new house.
No, thank you. I don't want ______more cake.
There isn't ______reason to complain.
Do you have ______friends in London?
Do you want ______groceries from the shop?
Are there ______problems with your work?
Universidad Tecnológica de Neza / 6